How love rebuilt a burnt-out wreck

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Restoring the listed Oxney Court was a labour of love for Louise Burness

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The property in Kent burnt down during the First World War

Claire Carponen

Last updated at 4:01PM, July 18 2012

Restoring a fire-ravaged Gothic mansion to its former glory was a labour of love for one visionary couple

Restoring a burnt-out ruin is most people’s idea of a nightmare, but when
Louise Burness and her husband saw Oxney Court it was love at first sight.

The property in Kent was a grand Strawberry Hill Gothic-style mansion until it
burnt down during the First World War. It had been requisitioned by the
British Army in 1914, but mysteriously caught fire and was left in a state
of disrepair for 80 years. Burness says that they first saw it on a
wonderful day in July. “There were masses of ivy growing over it but it
looked quite beautiful in the